A computer network is a collection of interconnected computing devices that exchange data and share resources. In a packet-based network, such as the Internet, the computing devices communicate data by dividing the data into small blocks called packets. The packets are individually routed across the network from a source device to a destination device. The destination device extracts the data from the packets and assembles the data into its original form. Dividing the data into packets enables the source device to resend only those individual packets that may be lost during transmission.
To monitor layer 2 (L2) performance metrics and verify operation, network administrators implement a process referred to as Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM), which generally provides the activities, tools, standards and other techniques that involve operating, administering and maintaining connectivity in the L2 computer network. Network devices may implement OAM processes to measure packet loss between two or more network devices.